A 20mph zone throughout the Cumbrian town of St Bees is to be replaced by a 30mph speed limit, because the county council cannot afford the traffic-calming measures required under government guidelines.
Cumbria County Council has decided to remove the zone, which came into force almost seven years ago, because subsequent guidance – Traffic signs regulations and general directions 2002 – only permitted the imposition of a 20mph zone if it was no more than 50m from a traffic-calming feature.
A council spokesman said: ‘Cumbria County Council’s local committee for Copeland followed legal advice, and agreed to remove the 20mph zone in St Bees and replace it with a 30mph limit to be in keeping with new government guidelines.
‘The cost of retaining a legally-enforceable 20mph zone through the village in its entirety would have involved spending an estimated £150,000 on extra traffic-calming measures, which the committee decided it could not afford.’
Doing nothing would leave St Bees without an enforceable speed limit. Committee member, David Southward, told Surveyor that, given the issue had attracted public recognition, irresponsible drivers could have exploited the zone, knowing it was unenforceable. But he said he was looking into making the high street 20mph enforceable.
The proposal also complies with the Department for Transport’s circular 01/2006, which advises councils to assess their speed limits on A and B roads by 2011.
Mike Ashworth, traffic and safety chair for the County Surveyors’ Society, said the decision was sensible if the 20mph zone had not achieved overall safety benefits. ‘The issue will be subject to fair debate ahead of the post-2010 road safety strategy.’ Southward said the prior casualty rate was minimal, and few people broke the previous 30mph speed limit.
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